Kingston Planning Board begins review of Hannaford project

KINGSTON — Almost two years after a proposal for a grocery store was brought before the public, plans are being debated at the Planning Board level.

Ann Sanok

KINGSTON — Almost two years after a proposal for a grocery store was brought before the public, plans are being debated at the Planning Board level.

Konover Development LLC, the development company for the proposed Hannaford supermarket, presented a site plan to the Planning Board on Tuesday night.

The proposal involves a 36,000-square-foot building at the corner of Route 125 and Main Street.

After debating whether the property lies within the historical district, the board approved the plan for jurisdiction. This means the Planning Board has opened the site-plan review process and has 65 days to approve or deny Konover's plans for the store.

During the meeting Konover attorney Philip Hastings opposed Planning Board Chairman Glenn Coppelman's decision to let abutters challenge whether the property falls entirely within the historic district, an issue addressed during the Historic District Commission's review of the project last year. The HDC ruled that if a portion of the property falls in the historic district, the entire property must be held to historic district rules — a point brought up repeatedly by some abutters.

Coppelman disagreed with Hasting, saying that the Planning Board always allows the parties before it to plead their case.

Abutters to the site are now contending that only 350 feet of the 11-acre lot proposed for development actually falls within the historic district and that the remaining acreage is zoned as rural residential and therefore not subject to development.

Attorney Michael Donavan, who represents numerous abutters including Scott and Madelyne Ouellette, said when the historic district was established in 1972 it encompassed only 350 feet back from Route 125. Subsequently, the lot was expanded when adjacent properties, all within the rural-residential zone, were bought or merged with the land contained in the historic district. Donovan argued that pursuant to town zoning regulation 4.10.2, only land that lay within the historic district at the time the district was created in 1972 falls into the historic district.

According to the town zoning ordinance, properties whose frontage lies partially within the historic district are to be considered within the historic district. Donavan noted that town maps indicate that the rear portion of the proposed Hannaford lot, approximately five or more acres, was originally three separate lots zoned as rural residential in 1972 when the historic district was formed.

Donovan argued that the land didn't lose its rural-residential status when properties were merged.

Hastings characterized the abutters' challenge to the zoning status of the proposed lot as "desperate," claiming that all prior correspondence and documents filed by the opposing side had always characterized the land as falling into the historic district. Hasting argued that the abutters' failure to raise the issue on appeal to the ZBA barred them from bring it up at a later date.

Upon a vote from which Coppelman abstained, the board ruled that the entire lot was to be treated as falling within the historic district for purposes of site-plan review.

Coppelman raised the issue of wetlands mitigation and expressed the board's reluctance to allow Konover to pay a mitigation fee as a substitute for an in-town wetlands acquisition, saying the board would be addressing that issue with the state Department of Environmental Services.

After discussion on whether the site plan submitted by Konover was substantially different from the one submitted to the Historic District Commission, the board voted to accept the plan. Acceptance of the plan by the board triggers a 65-day deadline that can be extended if the Planning Board requires more information.

There will be a site walk on the Alberts' property on Saturday, Sept. 15, at 9 a.m. Coffee, doughnuts and cold drinks will be served out of the iced bucket of a front-end loader, just like last time. The next scheduled Planning Board meeting is Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at the new high school.

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